Daily Sabah – December 19, 2023
25 dead in Israeli strikes on Rafah homes, 10 killed in Jabalia
At least 35 people were killed and dozens of others injured in two separate Israeli attacks on Gaza Tuesday.
Some 25 Palestinians were killed and many others injured in overnight airstrikes on southern Gaza's Rafah city, according to Palestinian media and health officials.
In another attack on Tuesday morning, at least 10 people were killed and 40 others wounded in an Israeli strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said that a series of Israeli airstrikes targeted three adjacent homes for the families of Zorob, Attiya and Abdel-al killing 25 Palestinian civilians, including a number of children and women.
WAFA reported that journalist Adel Zorob was among the people killed in Rafah city.
Another Israeli airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, also left five dead, including four brothers from the Abu Ghazal family.
A yet unknown number of citizens were also killed and injured in a series of violent raids east and north of Khan Yunis, and in Deir al-Balah, the news agency added.
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have crammed into Rafah on Gaza's border with Egypt to escape Israeli bombardments further north, despite fears that they will also not be safe there.
Early Tuesday, residents in Khan Younis, a city also in southern Gaza, reported fierce gun battles between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance groups. Israeli tanks and planes bombed areas near the city center, residents said.
A World Health Organization (WHO) official said Monday that the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza that Israeli troops raided last week is no longer functioning and patients including babies have been evacuated,
"We cannot afford to lose any hospitals," said Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative for Gaza.
Peeperkorn also said about 4,000 displaced people taking refuge on the grounds of the Nasser medical complex in Khan Younis were at risk as Israel pursues military operations there.
The Gazan Health Ministry said Tuesday that at least 19,667 people had been killed, mostly women and children, in Israel's war in the Palestinian territory since Oct. 7.
According to the ministry, 52,586 people in Gaza have been wounded in more than two months of fighting.
Israel's indiscriminate retaliation has increased concern among governments and international organizations over the civilian death toll, hunger and homelessness.
Father-of-four Raed, 45, who has moved his family twice, said Gazans were exhausted trying to stay alive.
"Money has lost its value, most of the items are not available. We rose from our beds after surviving a night of bombardment to tour the streets searching for food, we got tired," he said in the Rafah area. "We want peace, truce, ceasefire, whatever they call it, but please stop the war."
Daily Sabah – December 19, 2023
Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks exceeds 19,600
The Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip mounted to 19,667 since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the enclave said Tuesday.
Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra added that 52,586 other people were injured in the Israeli onslaught.
“Hospitals in Gaza's south are no longer able to accommodate more injured people,” the spokesman said at a press conference.
Al-Qudra said 99 medical personnel are held by Israeli forces in harsh conditions.
“The detainees include the directors of Al-Shifa, Al-Adwa and Kamal Adwan hospitals,” he added.
Israel's air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas have left the Gaza Strip in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.
Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.
https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/gaza-death-toll-from-israeli-attacks-exceeds-19600-3675000
Yeni Safak – December 19, 2023
American settlers in the West Bank...
By Abdullah Muradoğlu
In the occupied Palestinian territories, "Zionist settlements" are viewed as a violation of international law not only by the United States and the Western world but, you know, it's not like anyone is really doing anything about it. The Western stance on this, much like their stance on the "Two-State solution," remains a collection of toothless statements.
So, there are about 700,000 illegal settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem now – a significant upgrade from the approximately 200,000 just two years ago. The Peace Now, a civil society organization founded by Jews opposing settlements back in 1978, reported plans for new settlements in East Jerusalem and the opening of new roads and outposts in the West Bank on its Tel Aviv-based website. Meanwhile, reports in the "Haaretz" newspaper suggest that settlers are seizing the opportunity presented by the Gaza conflict to kick Palestinians out of their lands and grab new territories in the West Bank.
Oh, and did I mention that in the last year alone, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and armed settlers in the West Bank has reached nearly 500? Biden, in his profound wisdom, decided to highlight the issue in a piece for the "Washington Post" on November 18, stating, "I emphasized to Israeli leaders the need to end extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and to hold those perpetrating this violence accountable. The U.S. is ready to take our own steps, including visa bans on extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank."
But wait, there's more! In a note sent to the "State" and "Treasury" departments, Biden apparently urged them to prepare visa bans and sanctions for settlers attacking and displacing Palestinians in the West Bank. The note hinted at sanctions for individuals or entities involved in actions constituting human rights violations or abuses, significantly impeding efforts towards a two-state solution or disrupting such efforts. So, you know, real action there.
Even the European Union, along with countries like the UK, Canada, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, and the cool kids' club, has been warning Israel about its settlements. In a joint statement, they expressed concern about Israel's failure to effectively protect Palestinians and prosecute extremist settlers, creating an environment where settler violence is almost unpunished. Of course, Netanyahu is probably just using those warnings to line his birdcage.
These statements conveniently overlook the fact that the Israeli government actively encourages illegal settlements, arms settlers, and protects them. Itamar Ben Gvir, the National Security Minister, is one of Israel's most extreme annexationists, living in an illegal settlement near the occupied city of Hebron. In February 2023, an article in the "Washington Post" explored how Gvir, a prominent settler, became a powerful Israeli minister. Notably, he was spotted distributing American-made assault rifles to settlers in late October.
But hey, here's a fun fact the Biden administration seems to overlook: a significant number of these Zionist settlers are citizens of the U.S. and other Western countries. People and organizations in the U.S., among other places, are financing Jewish migration to Israel, particularly to expand these illegal settlements. A 2017 article in the Jerusalem-based "Times of Israel" estimated that around 200,000 U.S. citizens lived in Israel, with over 60,000 residing in illegal settlements in the West Bank, constituting about 15% of all Zionist settlers.
So, we've got tens of thousands of U.S. citizens living in what the U.S. officially considers "illegal" settlements. They're technically occupiers, but hey, who needs concrete measures from the Biden administration on this issue? Americans and Europeans are great at talking about it, while the number of occupiers keeps rapidly increasing. The more this contradiction continues, the more blood will be on their hands. But who's keeping track, right?
https://www.yenisafak.com/en/columns/abdullah-muradoglu/american-settlers-in-the-west-bank-3674949
Yeni Safak – December 19, 2023
The Holocaust Industry...
By Taha Kılınç
"After World War II, with the rapid removal of antisemitic barriers, Jews began to establish superiority in the United States. The per capita income of Jews is twice that of non-Jews. Among the top 40 richest Americans, 16 are Jewish. In the fields of science and economics, 40% of Nobel-winning Americans are Jewish. 20% of professors at major universities and 40% of partners in prominent law firms in New York and Washington are Jewish. The list goes on. Instead of being an obstacle to success, Jewish identity has become a factor that crowns success. Many Jews distance themselves from their ethnic identity when they see Israel as a burden, and when it turns into an investment, they become Zionist again.
American Jewish scholar Prof. Dr. Norman Finkelstein, in his seminal book 'The Holocaust Industry,' explains how the Holocaust, perpetrated against Jews during World War II, was turned into an exploitation and profit system by Zionists. Finkelstein, who says, 'To boast to helpless people is the courage of organized American Jewry,' reveals the comprehensive panorama of American Judaism and the support offered to Israel. In his book, which he blends with his own family story as the son of parents who survived the Holocaust, Finkelstein exposes the hypocrisy of the Zionists, laying bare all their double standards.
The book, first published in 2000, was translated into Turkish for the first time in 2011, and only managed its second edition in 2023 (Kutadgu Yayınları, Istanbul). Unfortunately, the fact that such an important text, which stirred up storms worldwide from the moment it hit the market, has only had two editions in 23 years serves as a bitter example of the level of interest in the Turkish public. I hope the new edition receives the attention it deserves.
Norman Finkelstein, from start to finish, highlights the fascist and arrogant attitudes of Jews towards other nations with striking examples. For instance, Finkelstein, stating that during World War II, Nazis not only exterminated Jews but also Gypsies, emphasizes that 'Holocaust merchants' insistently deny this reality. He mentions three reasons for this attitude: 1) They see Gypsies' lives as incomparable to Jews', 2) They don't want to share the profits of the genocide with anyone, 3) They are aware that accepting the killing of Gypsies would undermine the Holocaust claims constructed through 'anti-Semitism.'
One of the most striking sections in the book is where Finkelstein explains how the definition of a 'Holocaust victim' is constantly expanded, and thus the world is extorted. Noting that after World War II, there were around 100,000 Holocaust survivors, Finkelstein points out that later, those who 'escaped the Nazis' were added to the list, followed by emotionally affected Jews entering the queue for compensation. Thus, the Holocaust was turned into a massive gateway to profit, especially for Germany, literally becoming the servant of Israel, Zionism, and Jews. The details in the book are so shocking that it becomes clear why Germany is desperately supporting the genocide in Gaza today. In this section of the book, Finkelstein makes a very clever inference: 'If there are millions of Jews today claiming to have escaped the Nazis, then saying that Jews were systematically and intentionally exterminated becomes illogical.'
This paragraph also exposes all the contradictions of the United States and the current world system: 'When the U.S. wants to emphasize crimes committed abroad, it often brings up memories of the Holocaust. However, when the U.S. refers to the Holocaust is crucial. What official enemies do, such as the blood baths by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, brings up the Holocaust, but situations where the U.S. is an accomplice are forgotten. When the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia were revealed, the U.S.-backed Indonesian government was killing a third of the population in East Timor. The East Timor genocide was not compared to the Holocaust, and it didn't even find a place in the news.' In short, 'The Holocaust Industry' is a guide that should be kept at hand not only in these times but at all times."
https://www.yenisafak.com/en/columns/taha-kilinc/the-holocaust-industry-3674950
Daily Sabah – December 19, 2023
Zionism vs. humanity
Faced with Israeli atrocities against civilians, the world is divided into two camps: pro-Zionism and anti-Zionism, with the latter advocating for an end to bloodshed in Gaza
BY MUHITTIN ATAMAN
The current Western governments have been giving full and unconditional support to Israel’s oppressive policies and atrocities. Pro-Israeli Western governments do not take into account their citizens’ views on the latest developments in Palestine. They prefer to support the Zionists but not their people. However, they know that their pro-Israeli positions damage their relations with other countries.
They even avoid discussing Israel’s atrocities, both in their respective domestic setting and on international platforms. They question the legitimacy of any political authority, including the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), that questions Israel’s crimes against innocent Palestinians. However, despite all pro-Israeli political campaigns and media coverage, a large part of the Western public insistently criticizes and opposes the Israeli atrocities. Millions of people from different countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, took to the streets to condemn Israel’s oppressive policies.
Officers from the New York Police Department guard the entrance to The New York Times as pro-Palestine activists march in the "Global Strike for Gaza" in New York City, New York, U.S., Dec. 18, 2023. (AFP Photo)
The Zionist Israel has been committing all types of crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, with the unconditional support of its associates, i.e. the governments of the Western countries. While the Israeli government has been hitting any target in the Gaza Strip, including residential areas, marketplaces, hospitals, places of worship (mosques and churches) and schools (including the U.N. schools), pro-Israeli Western governments continue to provide unconditional support to the Zionist regime. While Israeli forces are killing children, women, international aid workers and journalists, pro-Israeli Western governments prefer to remain silent against all these atrocities.
Instead of deterring Israel from committing more violent acts, the Western governments have been trying to abandon their traditional values of free speech and freedom by forbidding their citizens from criticizing Israel’s oppressive policies and atrocities against innocent Palestinians. Pro-Israeli governments are trying to punish institutions or heads of institutions that remain silent about the peaceful demonstrations. Officials in Western countries are trying to undermine the independence of higher education institutions. For example, presidents of some Western universities were punished for their neutral perspectives and their tolerance toward the pro-Palestinian peaceful demonstrations or other kinds of reactions.
Two political camps
Considering all these, one can easily see that the world is divided into two political camps: pro-Zionists and anti-Zionists (pro-Palestinians). Compared with the Zionist camp, which is largely concentrated in the West, the anti-Zionist camp is truly global and diverse. The pro-Zionist camp includes the political parties that form the current Netanyahu government, the majority of the Israeli political establishment, most Western governments, some radical Christian groups who also claim to be Zionist, and ultra-nationalist and far-rightist groups. The anti-Zionist (pro-Palestinian) camp consists of most countries (especially the non-Western states), Muslim nations, Arab peoples, the world public opinion (including the Westerners) and a small part of the Jewish people (especially those who live in the Western countries).
The pro-Zionist camp can be divided into three categories: ideological Zionists (Jewish and Christian Zionists), anti-Muslims (both in the West and the non-Western part of the world), and the pragmatists who support Israel in exchange for a particular material benefit (economic or political gains). Similarly, the anti-Zionist camp can be divided into several categories: Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims and the global coalition. Palestinians and Arabs mainly are anti-Zionists because Zionists occupy their lands, not only Palestinian lands but also lands that belong to Lebanon and Syria. Since Muslims oppose the occupation of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is accepted as a holy site by all Muslims, they are positioned as anti-Zionists.
Divided coalition
The global coalition, extending from Indonesia to Canada and Russia to South Africa, is divided into two groups. One group thinks that the Zionist camp represents a traditional imperialist mindset. Therefore, any anti-imperialist or anti-colonialist group supports anti-Zionist social movements and political actors, i.e. Palestinians. The second part of the global coalition opposes the Zionist camp solely for humanitarian reasons. Individuals and people who still have compassion in their hearts and believe in justice support Palestine. They do not want to see the mass killing of innocent children, women, sick and elderly people in Palestine.
All in all, unlike the Zionist camp, which represents a shallow political objective, the global coalition represents humanity and universal values.
Muhittin Ataman is a professor in the Department of International Relations at Social Sciences University of Ankara. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Insight Turkey, published by SETA Foundation.
https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/columns/zionism-vs-humanity
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